Multi-protocol data transfer

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method of communicating with a point of sale terminal. The method includes establishing wireless communication with a point of sale terminal using a first communication channel, and establishing communication with the point of sale terminal using a second communication channel. The method also includes transmitting a first section of communication data via the first communication channel; and transmitting a second section of the communication data using the second communication channel.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/140,921, filed Mar. 31, 2015, the entirety of which is incorporatedby reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Merchants continually seek easier and safer ways to accept payment forgoods and services. Smart phones continue to proliferate and areincreasingly being used to make purchases. Wireless communications,however, may be subject to security risks and/or may have anunacceptably slow data transfer rate. Improved ways to wirelessly makepayments is needed.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the disclosure describes a computer-implementedmethod of communicating with a point of sale terminal. The methodincludes establishing wireless communication with a point of saleterminal using a first communication channel, and establishingcommunication with the point of sale terminal using a secondcommunication channel. The method also includes transmitting a firstsection of communication data via the first communication channel; andtransmitting a second section of the communication data using the secondcommunication channel.

In another embodiment, the disclosure describes a computer-implementedmethod of communicating with a point of sale terminal. The methodincludes establishing wireless communication with a point of saleterminal using a first communication channel, and establishing wirelesscommunication with the point of sale terminal using a secondcommunication channel. The method also includes transmitting a firsttype of communication data to the point of sale terminal via the firstcommunication channel, and transmitting a second type of communicationdata to the point of sale terminal via the second communication channel.

In yet another embodiment, the disclosure describes acomputer-implemented method of communicating with a point of saleterminal. The method includes establishing wireless communication with apoint of sale terminal using a first communication channel andestablishing wireless communication with a point of sale terminal usinga second communication channel. The method includes transmitting a firsttype of communication data to the point of sale terminal via the firstcommunication channel and transmitting a second type of communicationdata to the point of sale terminal via the second communication channel.The method also includes receiving a third type of communication datafrom the point of sale terminal via at least one of the firstcommunication channel or the second communication channel, where thefirst communication channel is one of near field communication orBluetooth light energy, and wherein the second communication channel isthe other one of near field communication or Bluetooth light energy.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood by references to the detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of theinvention. In the figures, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the different views.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of system for multi-protocol datatransfer in accordance with the disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates communication flow between a user device and a pointof sale terminal in accordance with example embodiments;

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate different communication channels that may be usedto transmit messages between a user device and a point of sale terminalin accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a method of multi-protocol datatransfer in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates elements of a sample computing system in accordancewith example embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a user device in accordance with example embodiments;and

FIG. 10 illustrates a point of sale terminal in accordance with exampleembodiments.

Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that elements inthe figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity so not allconnections and options have been shown to avoid obscuring the inventiveaspects. For example, common but well-understood elements that areuseful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are not oftendepicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these variousembodiments of the present disclosure. It will be further appreciatedthat certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in aparticular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art willunderstand that such specificity with respect to sequence is notactually required. It will also be understood that the terms andexpressions used herein are to be defined with respect to theircorresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except wherespecific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Specification

The present disclosure now will be described more fully with referenceto the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show,by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which theinvention may be practiced. These illustrations and exemplaryembodiments are presented with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or moreinventions and is not intended to limit any one of the inventions to theembodiments illustrated. The invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things,the present invention may be embodied as methods, systems, computerreadable media, apparatuses, or devices. Accordingly, the exampleembodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, anentirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software andhardware aspects. The following detailed description is, therefore, notto be taken in a limiting sense.

The example embodiments may overcome problems that occur when using asingle wireless/contactless protocol to make a purchase via a point ofsale terminal. Near field communication (NFC) has certain limitationsand cannot be conveniently used to add information beyond a relativelysmall standard data set. Adding additional data or fields (e.g. loyaltyinformation) beyond payment information adds delay when using NFC tomake a payment and requires the user to hold his/her phone up to a POSreader for an extended period of time. The example embodiments overcomethese and other issues through use of multiple communication channels.

The example embodiments describe a system, method, apparatus, andcomputer readable media that may be configured to enable a point of saleterminal to wirelessly communicate with a user device over two or morecommunication channels. Each channel may carry a different messagethereby resulting in increased speed and/or data security. The exampleembodiments discuss sending some data over a near field communication(NFC) channel and other data over a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) channel.Other logical and physical communication channels may be used insteadof, or in addition to, an NFC channel and a BLE channel.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 in accordance with example embodiments.The system 100 may include a user device 102 that may wirelesslycommunicate with a point of sale (POS) terminal 104 via one or more ofcommunication channels 1, 2, . . . N, where N represents an integerlarger than 2. User device 102 may be a smart phone, a lap top, or otherdevice capable of communicating data wirelessly. The user device 102 mayalso have a display 802 which may or may not be a touch sensitivedisplay. More specifically, the display 82 may have a capacitancesensor, for example, that may be used to provide input data to the userdevice 102. In other embodiments, an input pad 804 such as arrows,scroll wheels, keyboards, etc., may be used to provide inputs to theuser device 102. In addition, the user device 102 may have a microphone806 which may accept and store verbal data, a camera 808 to acceptimages and a speaker 810 to communicate sounds. The user device 102 maystore a software payment application (e.g., a payment app) that wasdownloaded at some previous point in time or otherwise installed ontothe user device. The payment app may be associated with one or morepayment credentials used to make purchases. In an example, a paymentcredential may be associated with and used to identify a credit or debitaccount. The POS terminal 104 may be a device that can accept andprocess a payment credential during a purchase transaction. The POSterminal 104 may be coupled to a payment processing network 106 thatcommunicates with an issuing bank and an acquiring bank to approve ordecline a requested payment transaction. Example payment transactionsmay include requesting payment using a debit account, a credit account,or other account. Details of the payment processing network 106 arewell-known and not further described herein. When a user enters into astore, the user device 102 may communicate with the POS terminal 104 asdescribed below.

FIG. 2 illustrates communication flow between user device 102 and POSterminal 104 in accordance with example embodiments. A user may enter astore carrying his or her user device 102. The user device 102 or thePOS terminal 104 may detect the presence of the other over one or moreof a variety of wireless communications protocols. For example, the userdevice 102 may detect the POS terminal 104 and send an identification(ID) message 202 to the POS terminal 104. In other examples, the POSterminal 104 may detect the user device 102 and invite the user device102 to send the ID message 202. In yet other examples, the store maydisplay advertising prompting the user to place user device 102 at aparticular location within the store (e.g., tap on a POS terminal, NFCreader, NFC tag, etc.) to cause the user device 102 to send the IDmessage 202. The ID message 202 may include a unique identifier for theuser device 102 and what communication channels the device 102 isconfigured to use. In some examples, the POS terminal 104 may use theunique identifier to access a user profile for marketing to the user.

After sending ID message 202, the user device 102 and the POS terminal104 may communicate with one another to establish communicationparameters for each of one or more communication channels to be used.For example, the communication parameters may indicate whatcommunication channels are supported by the user device 102 (e.g., BLE,NFC, etc.). Establishing of the communication parameters may be called“pairing” under Bluetooth standards and binding under NFC standards. TheID message 202 and establishment of the communication parameters mayoccur without requiring the user to make any selections or provide anyinput.

At some later time, the user may select one or more items (e.g.,products and/or services) to buy. For example, a user may pick one ormore physical objects to purchase and bring them to a register in thestore. The user may launch the payment application, which may cause theuser device 102 to communicate a ready to pay message 204 to the POSterminal 104. In some embodiments, the payment application mayaccessible from a payment issuer website via an internet browser on theuser device 102. Subsequent to receipt, the POS terminal 104 and theuser device 102 may exchange data 206 regarding the items to bepurchased such as a purchase item identifier, and the total amount ofthe purchase price. For example, the user device 102 may present agraphical user interface and the user may place one or more items topurchase in a virtual shopping cart. The user device 102 may communicatethe contents of the virtual shopping cart to the POS terminal 104. Inanother example, the user may bring items to purchase to a physical cashregister, and the POS terminal 104 may communicate information about theitems and their cost to the user device 102. In yet another exampleembodiment, the user device 102 may scan a bar code on the items forpurchase via the camera 108 or other visual sensory technology, or maycommunicate with other active or passive wireless information carriersassociated with the items, such as radio frequency identification (RFID)tags. In such embodiments, the user device 102 can then communicated thescanned items to the POS terminal 104.

The user device 102 may then display the cost of each item and the totaland prompt the user for approval to pay. If the user provides inputindicating that the total cost is acceptable, the user device 102 maycommunicate a confirmation message 208 to the POS terminal 104confirming that the total cost is acceptable and that the POS terminal104 is permitted to charge that amount to the user's account. The userdevice 102 may also communicate a payment credential message 210including a payment credential associated with a payment account to beused to make payment. The POS terminal 104 may communicate a paymenttransaction message that includes the payment credential and the totalcost to the payment processing network 106. The POS terminal 104 mayreceive a reply from the payment processing network 106 indicatingwhether the total cost is approved for payment. Whether or not approved,the POS terminal 104 may communicate a summary message 212 to the userdevice 102. The summary message 212 may indicate whether the transactionwas approved or not. If approved, the summary message 212 may include asales receipt listing the purchased items.

In an example the user device 102 and the POS terminal 104 may utilizetwo or more communications channels when sending messages 202-212. FIGS.3-6 illustrates tables listing what communication channels may be usedto send the different messages in accordance with example embodiments.The following discussion describes each Figure and the benefitsassociated therewith.

There may be several advantages to using more than one communicationchannel in a transaction. In one embodiment, the first channel mayfollow a very rigid protocol related to processing a transaction. Thereis very limited opportunity to add additional data to the protocol whichmay limit what a merchant may be able to offer to a customer. By using asecond channel that is not following the rigid protocol, additional datamay be communicated to the customer. The additional data may take on avariety of forms such as an advertisement, a coupon, a discount code, anenticement to use a related merchant, a sound that may be unique to themerchant, a video, etc.

In addition, the second channel may provide a security purpose. Byhaving the sensitive data split or disbursed over multiple communicationchannels, a hacker would have to hack into both the first and secondchannels to obtain data that may be useful to the hacker. Further, byalternating the channels, it may be even more difficult for a hacker tointercept a complete message. In addition, specific bits may be sent ondifferent channels which again may make it especially difficult for ahacker to intercept any useful signals.

Moreover, the second channel or other additional channels may provide anincrease in data flow. Similar to filing a swimming pool with one hoseor two, more data may be communicated to a customer using two channelsthan one channel. The increase in data rates may provide a variety ofopportunities for merchant to increase communication to consumers and toprovide a more enriching experience. As an example, a graphical userinterface to create a transaction may be vastly superior if additionaldata may be communicated to create the graphical user interface and thesecond channel is reserved to process the transaction.

FIG. 3 illustrates a table providing a channel configuration inaccordance with example embodiments. The table lists an embodiment inwhich NFC and BLE communication channels are utilized to advantageouslyput the user in control of the payment experience conducted through thepayment application.

Initially, a user may check-in by touching user device 102 to a POSterminal 104 upon entry to a merchant's store. In this example, the POSterminal 104 may include an NFC reader or NFC tag. The POS terminal 104may also include one or more NFC readers or NFC tags positioned around astore. During check-in, the POS terminal 104 may communicate with theuser device 102 to bind with the device 102. For example, the userdevice 102 may use an NFC channel to communicate the ID message 202 tothe POS terminal 104. After binding, the user device 102 and the POSterminal 104 may use a BLE channel for subsequent communications. Forexample, a user may launch a payment app when ready to pay and thepayment app may cause device 102 to send a ready to pay message 204 viaa BLE channel. The user device 102 and POS terminal 104 may exchangedata 206, such as Value Added Service (VAS) data such as an offer orcoupon via a BLE channel.

The user device 102 may also communicate a payment confirmation amountmessage 208 and a payment credential message 210 to the POS terminal 104via a BLE channel. The POS terminal 104 may then form a paymenttransaction message including the payment credential and the totalamount and communicate the payment transaction message to the paymentprocessing network 106 seeking approval. Whether approved or declined,the POS terminal 104 may communicate the summary message 212 including,for example, an indication whether the payment transaction was approvedand a copy of the user's receipt identifying what items were purchasedvia a BLE channel.

FIG. 4 illustrates a table providing another channel configuration inaccordance with example embodiments. An advantage of operatingcommunication channels in this manner is that it leverages existing POShardware setup and involves familiar consumer behavior (e.g., a tap onthe POS terminal 104 initiates a payment transaction). Operating thechannels as described in FIG. 4 beneficially does not restrict paymentand added value data flows to the speed limitations of the NFCcontactless interface, and instead can leverage the higher data rates ofBLE.

Initially, a user may check-in by touching the user device 102 to a POSterminal 104 (or other connected NFC reader or tag) upon entry to amerchant's store. The POS terminal 104 may communicate and bind with theuser device 102. For example, the user device 102 may use an NFC channelto communicate the ID message 202 to the POS terminal 104. A user maythen launch a payment app when ready to pay and the payment app maycause device 102 to send a ready to pay message 204 via an NFC channel.The user device 102 and the POS terminal 104 may subsequently use a BLEchannel to communicate. For example, the user device 102 and POSterminal 104 may exchange data 206, such as VAS data, via the BLEchannel. The user device 102 may also communicate a payment confirmationamount message 208 and a payment credential message 210 to the POSterminal 104 via a BLE channel. The POS terminal 104 may then form apayment transaction message including the payment credential and thetotal amount and communicate the payment transaction message to thepayment processing network for approval. Whether approved or declined,the POS terminal 104 may communicate the summary message 212 including,for example, an indication whether the payment transaction was approvedand a copy of the user's receipt identifying what items were purchasedvia a BLE channel.

FIG. 5 illustrates a table providing another channel configuration inaccordance with example embodiments. An advantage of operatingcommunication channels in this manner is that it permits the POSterminal 104 to intelligently select between NFC and BLE channels whencommunicating different messages.

With reference to FIG. 5 , a user may check-in by touching the userdevice 102 to a POS terminal 104 (or NFC reader or NFC tag) upon entryto a merchant's store. The POS terminal 104 may communicate and bindwith the user device 102. For example, the user device 102 may use anNFC channel to communicate the ID message 202 to the POS terminal 104. Auser may subsequently launch a payment app when ready to pay and thepayment app may cause device 102 to send a ready to pay message 204 viaan NFC channel. The user device 102 and POS terminal 104 may exchangedata 206, such as VAS data, via the NFC channel. The POS terminal 104may select between NFC and BLE channels for the remaining messages. Forexample, in the first row of the table in FIG. 5 , each of theconfirmation message 208, the payment credential message 210, and thesummary message 212 is communicated using a BLE channel. In the secondrow, the payment credential message 210 is communicated using the NFCchannel and the confirmation message 208 and the summary message 212 arecommunicated using the BLE channel. In the third row, the confirmationmessage 208 and the payment credential message 210 are communicatedusing the NFC channel and the summary message is communicated using theBLE channel. Advantageously, the POS terminal 104 can select which ofthe NFC and BLE channels to use based on current needs or the particulartransaction, or based on other environmental or transaction-basedfactors.

FIG. 6 illustrates a table providing another channel configuration inaccordance with example embodiments. This example advantageously enablesthe merchant to present and apply coupons/vouchers to the user's billbefore the point of purchase, thereby providing enhanced value tocustomers, reducing friction at the checkout for the merchant, andsaving the user and merchant time. Existing POS hardware setup andcurrent payment consumer behavior then applies, with the merchant againreducing checkout friction by using BLE to provide post-paymentinformation including providing a receipt to the user.

With reference to FIG. 6 , the POS terminal 104 may recognize and pairwith the user device 102 to establish communication over a BLE channel.Once paired the user device 102 may use the BLE channel to communicatethe ID message 202 to a POS terminal 104. The POS terminal 104 may alsocommunicate the data exchange message 206 and any loyalty/coupon datavia the BLE channel. Subsequently, the user may touch user device 102 tothe POS terminal 104 and continue with an NFC payment. The POS terminal104 may then communicate and bind with the user device 102. A user maysubsequently launch a payment app when ready to pay and the payment appmay cause device 102 to send a ready to pay message 204 via an NFCchannel. The user device 102 and POS terminal 104 may exchange data 206,such as VAS data, via the BLE channel. The user device 102 may send theconfirmation message 208 and the payment credential 210 via the NFCchannel. The POS terminal 104 may communicate the summary message 212via the BLE channel.

In yet another aspect, a variety of protocols or communication channelsmay be used at the same time to communicate data such as to a point ofsale (POS) system. As a simple example, a personal account number (PAN)may have 16 digits. The 16 digits of the PAN can be broken up into partsand transmitted to the POS in an intended order. For example, the firstfour digits and digits 9-12 may be communicated via Wi-Fi to the POSsystem and digits 5-8 and 13-16 may be communicated via BLE to thebackend of the POS system. At the backend of the POS system, the digitsmay be reconfigured in the proper order and communicated forauthentication purposes. Thus, if someone attempts to intercept Wi-Ficommunications, they will only receive an unusable section of the PAN(digits 1-4 and 9-12). Similarly, if someone attempts to hack into BLEcommunications, they will only receive an unusable portion of a PAN(digits 5-8 and 13-16). Logically, the use of a variety of communicationchannels may be used throughout the transaction process, such asreceiving and communicating authorization signals. As a result, securityof communications may be improved by using multiple channels ofcommunication. Of course, the types and order of data transmissionsshown and described herein are merely examples illustrating possibleembodiments of the disclosed system and methods. It is also contemplatedherein that additional or alternative data transmissions between the POSterminal 104, the user device 102, and the payment processing network106 are also possible. For example, Wi-Fi or radio frequencyidentification (RFID), or other wireless forms of electroniccommunication between the user device 102 and the POS terminal 104 canbe used in certain embodiments as alternative or additionalcommunication channels.

Thus, the example embodiments advantageously provide for communicationbetween a user's device and a merchant's POS terminal using two or morecommunication channels. Using multiple channels may enhance the user'sexperience and improve the speed at which a payment transaction can becompleted.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart of a method 700 of communicating with aPOS terminal in accordance with example embodiments. The flow diagrammay be implemented by a system or apparatus, such as, for example, userdevice 102. Each of the blocks shown in the flow diagram may be repeatedone or more times, one or more of the blocks may be modified, and one ormore of the blocks may be omitted. The method may be stored on anon-transitory computer readable medium as computer executableinstructions. The computer executable instructions, when executed by atleast one processor, may cause at least one computer or other device toperform the blocks as steps of a method one or more times. The flowdiagram may begin at block 702.

In block 702, the method may include establishing wireless communicationwith a POS terminal using a first communication channel with a firstcommunication form. In an example, a user device 102 may establishcommunication with a POS terminal 104 using an NFC channel.

In block 704, the method may include establishing wireless communicationwith the POS terminal USING a second communication channel and, in someembodiments, with a second communication form. In an example, a userdevice 102 may establish communication with a POS terminal 104 using aBLE channel.

In block 706, the method may include transmitting or otherwisecommunicating a first section of communication data via the firstcommunication channel. In an example, a user device 102 may communicatean ID message 202 using the NFC channel.

In block 708, the method may include transmitting or otherwisecommunicating a second section of the communication data via the secondcommunication channel. In an example, a user device 102 may communicatemessages 204-212 using the BLE channel.

The method may end, may return to any of the preceding steps, and/orrepeat one or more times.

FIG. 8 may be a high level illustration of some of the elements a samplecomputing environment that may be physically configured to implement thevarious embodiments of the method and its logical variants. A userdevice 102 in the computing environment may store a software paymentapplication that may be accessed in a variety of ways. In addition, thepayment app may be obtained in a variety of ways such as from an appstore, from a web site, from a store Wi-Fi system, etc. There may bevarious versions of the application to take advantage of the benefits ofdifferent computing devices, different languages and different APIplatforms.

The user device 102 may have a display 802 which may or may not be atouch sensitive display. More specifically, the display 802 may have acapacitance sensor, for example, that may be used to provide input datato the user device 102. In other embodiments, an input pad 804 such asarrows, scroll wheels, keyboards, etc., may be used to provide inputs tothe user device 102. In addition, the user device 102 may have amicrophone 806 which may accept and store verbal data, a camera 808 toaccept images and a speaker 810 to communicate sounds.

The user device 102 may be able to communicate in a variety of ways. Insome embodiments, the communication may be wired such as through anEthernet cable, a USB cable or RJ6 cable. In other embodiments, thecommunication may be wireless such as through Wi-Fi (802.11 standard),Bluetooth, cellular communication or near field communication devices.The communication may be direct to the POS terminal 104 or through awireless network, e.g., Bluetooth, etc. FIG. 9 may be a simplifiedillustration of the physical elements that make up a user device 102 andFIG. 10 may be a simplified illustration of the physical elements thatmake up the POS terminal 104.

FIG. 9 may be a sample user device 102 that is physically configuredaccording to be part of the system. The user device 102 may have aprocessor 950 that is physically configured according to computerexecutable instructions. It may have a portable power supply 955 such asa battery which may be rechargeable. It may also have a sound and videomodule 960 which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn offwhen not in use to conserve power and battery life. The user device 102may also have volatile memory 965 and non-volatile memory 970. Therealso may be an input/output bus 975 that shuttles data to and from thevarious user input devices such as the microphone 906, the camera 908and other inputs 902, etc. It also may control communicating with thenetworks, either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this isjust one embodiment of the portable computing device 102 and the numberand types of portable computing devices 102 is limited only by theimagination.

An example of the physical elements that make up the POS terminal 104may be further illustrated in FIG. 10 . Some of the physical elementsmay be located in other devices, depending on processing needs. The POSterminal 104 may have a processor 1000 that is physically configuredaccording to computer executable instructions. It may also have a soundand video module 1005 which assists in displaying video and sound andmay turn off when not in use to conserve power and battery life. The POSterminal 104 may also have volatile memory 1010 and non-volatile memory1015.

In some examples, the POS terminal 104 may include a digital storagesuch as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, flash storage, non-volatilestorage, etc. Structured data may be stored in the digital storage suchas in a database. A database 1025 may be stored in the memory 1010 or1015 or may be separate. The database 1025 may also be part of a cloudand may be stored in a distributed manner. There also may be aninput/output bus 1020 that shuttles data to and from the various userinput devices such as microphones, the cameras, and inputs, etc. Theinput/output bus 1020 also may control of communicating with thenetworks, either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this isjust one embodiment of the POS terminal 104 and the number and types ofuser devices 102 and POS terminals is limited only by the imagination.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes andjurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are consideredto represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it shouldbe noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than asspecifically illustrated and described without departing from its spiritor scope.

The user devices, point of sale terminals, computers and serversdescribed herein may be general purpose computers that may have, amongother elements, a microprocessor (such as from the Intel Corporation,AMD or Motorola); volatile and non-volatile memory; one or more massstorage devices (i.e., a hard drive); various user input devices, suchas a mouse, a keyboard, or a microphone; and a video display system. Theuser devices, point of sale terminals, computers and servers describedherein may be running on any one of many operating systems including,but not limited to WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, MAC OS, or Windows (XP, VISTA,etc.). It is contemplated, however, that any suitable operating systemmay be used for the present invention. The servers may be a cluster ofweb servers, which may each be LINUX based and supported by a loadbalancer that decides which of the cluster of web servers should processa request based upon the current request-load of the availableserver(s).

The user devices, point of sale terminals, computers and serversdescribed herein may communicate via networks, including the Internet,WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, other computer networks (now known or invented in thefuture), and/or any combination of the foregoing. It should beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the presentspecification, drawings, and claims before them that networks mayconnect the various components over any combination of wired andwireless conduits, including copper, fiber optic, microwaves, and otherforms of radio frequency, electrical and/or optical communicationtechniques. It should also be understood that any network may beconnected to any other network in a different manner. Theinterconnections between computers and servers in system are examples.Any device described herein may communicate with any other device viaone or more networks.

The example embodiments may include additional devices and networksbeyond those shown. Further, the functionality described as beingperformed by one device may be distributed and performed by two or moredevices. Multiple devices may also be combined into a single device,which may perform the functionality of the combined devices.

The various participants and elements described herein may operate oneor more computer apparatuses to facilitate the functions describedherein. Any of the elements in the above-described Figures, includingany servers, point of sale terminals, user devices, or databases, mayuse any suitable number of subsystems to facilitate the functionsdescribed herein.

Any of the software components or functions described in thisapplication, may be implemented as software code or computer readableinstructions that may be executed by at least one processor using anysuitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++, or Perlusing, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques.

The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commandson a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a random accessmemory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as ahard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Anysuch computer readable medium may reside on or within a singlecomputational apparatus and may be present on or within differentcomputational apparatuses within a system or network.

It may be understood that the present invention as described above canbe implemented in the form of control logic using computer software in amodular or integrated manner. Based on the disclosure and teachingsprovided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art may know andappreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present inventionusing hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Manyvariations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in theart upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should,therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description,but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claimsalong with their full scope or equivalents.

One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one ormore features of any other embodiment without departing from the scopeof the invention. A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean“one or more” unless specifically indicated to the contrary. Recitationof “and/or” is intended to represent the most inclusive sense of theterm unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

One or more of the elements of the present system may be claimed asmeans for accomplishing a particular function. Where suchmeans-plus-function elements are used to describe certain elements of aclaimed system it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in theart having the present specification, figures and claims before them,that the corresponding structure is a general purpose computer,processor, or microprocessor (as the case may be) programmed to performthe particularly recited function using functionality found in anygeneral purpose computer without special programming and/or byimplementing one or more algorithms to achieve the recitedfunctionality. As would be understood by those of ordinary skill in theart that algorithm may be expressed within this disclosure as amathematical formula, a flow chart, a narrative, and/or in any othermanner that provides sufficient structure for those of ordinary skill inthe art to implement the recited process and its equivalents.

While the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms,the drawings and discussion are presented with the understanding thatthe present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one ormore inventions and is not intended to limit any one of the inventionsto the embodiments illustrated.

The present disclosure provides a solution to the long-felt needdescribed above. In particular, the systems and methods described hereinmay be configured for improving data transfer. Further advantages andmodifications of the above described system and method will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art. The disclosure, in its broaderaspects, is therefore not limited to the specific details,representative system and methods, and illustrative examples shown anddescribed above. Various modifications and variations can be made to theabove specification without departing from the scope or spirit of thepresent disclosure, and it is intended that the present disclosurecovers all such modifications and variations provided they come withinthe scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

1. A computer-implemented method of communicating with a point of saleterminal, the method comprising: establishing wireless communicationwith a point of sale terminal using a first communication channel;establishing communication with the point of sale terminal using asecond communication channel; transmitting a first section ofcommunication data via the first communication channel; and transmittinga second section of the communication data using the secondcommunication channel.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstsection of the communication data and the second section of thecommunication data are transmitted to the point of sale terminal in anintended order.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtransmitting a first bit of the communication data via the firstcommunication channel and transmitting an additional bit of thecommunication data via the second communication channel.
 4. The methodof claim 1, further comprising transmitting a first bit of the firstsection of the communication data via the first communication channeland transmitting an additional bit of the first section of thecommunication data using the second communication channel.
 5. The methodof claim 1, further comprising transmitting a first bit of the secondsection of the communication data via the first communication channeland transmitting an additional bit of the second section of thecommunication data via the second communication channel.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first communication channel and the secondcommunication channel are each at least one of near field communication,Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi (802.11 standard), or radio frequencyidentification.
 7. A computer-implemented method of communicating with apoint of sale terminal, the method comprising: establishing wirelesscommunication with a point of sale terminal using a first communicationchannel; establishing wireless communication with the point of saleterminal using a second communication channel; transmitting a first typeof communication data to the point of sale terminal via the firstcommunication channel; and transmitting a second type of communicationdata to the point of sale terminal via the second communication channel.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first communication channel isnear field communication and the second communication channel is atleast one of Bluetooth light energy, Wi-Fi (802.11 standard), or radiofrequency identification (RFID).
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein thefirst communication channel is Bluetooth light energy and the secondcommunication channel is at least one of near field communication, Wi-Fi(802.11 standard), or radio frequency identification (RFID).
 10. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the first type of communication data is anidentification message and the second type of communication data is atleast one of a payment credential, a purchase price, an purchase itemidentifier, or a confirmation message.
 11. The method of claim 7,further comprising establishing a third wireless communication channelwith the point of sale terminal and transmitting a third type ofcommunication data to the point of sale data via the third communicationchannel.
 12. A computer-implemented method of communicating with a pointof sale terminal, the method comprising: establishing wirelesscommunication with a point of sale terminal using a first communicationchannel; establishing wireless communication with a point of saleterminal using a second communication channel; transmitting a first typeof communication data to the point of sale terminal via the firstcommunication channel; transmitting a second type of communication datato the point of sale terminal via the second communication channel; andreceiving a third type of communication data from the point of saleterminal via at least one of the first communication channel or thesecond communication channel; wherein the first communication channel isone of near field communication or Bluetooth light energy, and whereinthe second communication channel is the other one of near fieldcommunication or Bluetooth light energy.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the first type of communication data is an identificationmessage and the second type of communication data is at least one of apayment credential, a purchase price, an purchase item identifier, or aconfirmation message.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the third typeof communication data is a sales receipt.
 15. The method of claim 12,further comprising establishing wireless communication with the point ofsale terminal using a third communication channel, and transmitting afourth type of communication data to the point of sale terminal via thethird communication channel.